The yesterdays that were mine

From Behind these Pillars that Made Me pt. 1

Twelve years In the past

The day that she met Tetta Kisaki was the day her life was forever changed. Perhaps his impact didn't take full force the second they saw each other, but there was something in those silent seconds that told Nana that his face wouldn't be one she would be quick to forget.  Manjiro had taken the liberty of introducing them, his lips construed into a childish grin.

"Hello, Nana Komore"

His voice, the string of words that came from him bled into the air, settling like a shiver on her skin. There was something...off with him.

He hid it well, behind a smile and a pair of glasses - But Nana always had a way of reading people, of scoping out potential threats, or the tell tale signs of when her mother would begin to hit. That is what it felt like to her: the reel back before the blow, the rain before the storm.

"It's nice to meet you, Captain" Nana couldn't have missed it, the way his mouth flickered when she said the title. All the boys she is surrounded by seem to gain this sick power trip every time she is in their presence. It wasn't romantic, not in the way they'd like to see Nana naked or find out how she'd look pressed against them, or the way her back curves or eyes flutter. Nana was beneath that, beneath loving, or memorising.

There was something not right with him, and Nana could feel it in her veins, racing through her bones; and it wasn't just because he formally aligned himself with Moebius. She watched him as he paced from the crowd once Manjiro formally introduced him as the new 3rd division captain to everyone.

When he reached the lined group at the front of it all, he sat down on the steps, his back facing Manjiro. The crowd stirred before her, seizing up and moving like ocean water. She saw a familiar blonde out in the crowd and his face was eclipsed in terror for some reason. She absorbed everything she saw silently, knowing that this night might be a pivotal moment in Tokyo Manji and its future.

The crowd of men began to question Mikey's choice, and Kisaki's pledge and honesty. The uproar was swiftly shut down by himself and Draken. Nana wanted so deeply to trust him, to trust what he was doing and hope that it was all for the best. All she had was hope, as flimsy and futile it was.

When Takemichi shook himself from his stillness he punched Kisaki. Nana felt like she had watched the entire thing from the other side of a window - detached completely from what was happening. All pillar members apart from herself and Mikey went to surround the assault, and that is when Baji showed himself. Within a second, he had punched Takemichi himself.

The night she met Kisaki was the night Baji told Tokyo Manji that he was going to Valhalla, and that his act of violence was him giving Mikey a reason to fire him. There is something about watching from the sidelines that lets you see things you can't see up close.

Nana Komore had honed the talent of being a silent bystander. She saw Kisaki smile after the blow, and Baji's hesitance as he turned to walk away from his found family, and Nana could feel the anger Takemichi had for Tetta Kisaki.